Brandon Vera
Background Vera is the son of a Filipino father, Ernesto and his Filipino step-mother, Amelia. His birth mother is Italian American and was not involved in most of his upbringing. He grew up in a family with three brothers and one sister. He also has two other brothers and another sister outside of the family in which he was raised and they were occasionally involved in his life. He was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia,1 and attended Lake Taylor High School where he excelled in wrestling and earned a four-year athletic scholarship to Old Dominion University. However, he dropped out of Old Dominion after a year and a half when he felt college was not for him, and enlisted himself in the United States Air Force. In the Air Force, Vera joined the force's wrestling team and trained at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His military wrestling career was cut short in 1999 when he tore ligaments in his right elbow. Arthroscopic surgery repaired the ligaments, but he had nerve damage from the experience, causing him to be unable to use his right arm. He was released from the Air Force on a medical discharge. Vera returned to Virginia where he steadily rehabilitated his arm, and eventually was fit enough to enter the Grapplers Quest submission wrestling competitions on the East Coast. There, his solitary training methods (he did not belong to a camp and trained and cut weight on his own) caught the attention of Lloyd Irvin, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt and coach, who invited him to train with his school. At Irvin's school, he was introduced to mixed martial arts. He also trained with Linxx Academy, and Hybrid Academy. UFC career Vera lost to Cyrille Diabate in a Light Heavyweight match up on the Preliminary Card at UFC 4 by Unanimous decision. Vera beat Ryan Bader at Fight night 1 by Unanimous decision, Vera won at UFC 14 beating Matyushenko by Unanimous decision, Vera lost his next fight at UFC 21 this time against Jason Brilz by Unanimous decision, Vera Lost his next fight at UFC 26 to Lyoto Machida by KO, Vera lost his next match against Thiago Silva at UFC 31 by Unanimous decision, Vera lost to Rich Franklin by Unanimous decision at UFC 35 prelims, Vera lost on the prelims to fight night 11 to Matt Hamill by Unanimous decision, Vera beat Murilo Rua by Unanimous decision on the prelims of Fight Night 15, Vera beat Kazuhiro Nakamura by Unanimous decision on the prelims of UFC 48. MMA record |style="background: #ccffcc; text-align: center;"| Win |align=center| 4 - 6 - 0 | Kazuhiro Nakamura | Unanimous decision | UFC 48 | 8 September 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 | MGM Grand, Paradise, Nevada, USA | |- |style="background: #ccffcc; text-align: center;"| Win |align=center| 3 - 6 - 0 | Murilo Rua | Unanimous decision | UFN 15 | July 31 , 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 | Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, USA. | |- |style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss |align=center| 2 - 6 - 0 | Matt Hamill | Unanimous decision | UFN 11 | May 18, 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 | Palms resort and casino, Paradise, Nevada, USA. | |- |style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss |align=center| 2 - 5 - 0 | Rich Franklin | Unanimous decision | UFC 35 | May 1, 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 | Mandalay Bay, Paradise, Nevada, USA | |- |style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss |align=center| 2 - 4 - 0 | Thiago Silva | Unanimous decision | UFC 31 | 3 April 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 | O2 Arena, London, England | |- |style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| loss |align=center| 2 - 3 - 0 | Lyoto Machida | KO (Punch) | UFC 26 | 13 March 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 2.03 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. | |- |style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss |align=center| 2 - 2 - 0 | Jason Brilz | Unanimous decision | UFC 21 | February 6, 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 | Mandalay Bay, Paradise, Nevada, USA | |- |style="background: #ccffcc; text-align: center;"| Win |align=center| 2 - 1 - 0 | Vladimir Matyushenko | Unanimous decision | UFC 14 | January 6, 2013 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 |Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA. | |- |style="background: #ccffcc; text-align: center;"| Win |align=center| 1 - 1 - 0 | Ryan Bader | Unanimous decision | UFN 1 | December 9, 2012 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 | Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, USA. | |- |style="background: #ffcccc; text-align: center;"| Loss |align=center| 0 - 1 - 0 | Cyrille Diabate | Unanimous decision | UFC 4 | November 18, 2012 |align=center| 3rd |align=center| 5.00 |Mandalay Bay, Paradise, Nevada, USA. | |}